Afghans 2015

I have been crocheting nonstop since March and have created quite a few afghans, totes, and other items since that time. My grandma taught me to crochet when I was a kid, my mom retaught me about ten years ago, and she retaught me yet again this go around. It's been a lot of fun finding patterns to create, choosing colors for people, and having something to do in my down time. Since I started so early, I didn't really feel stress to finish anything until I decided last minute to crochet an afghan for Steve. I neglected my house and Matt (not really, but kind of) until I finished it.

I thought about taking a month-long break from crocheting before starting up on this year's crop of gifts, but my fingers are already itching to start on some patterns my cousin gave me for Christmas.

Here are the blankets I made this year. I wish I was a better photographer so you could see better just how nicely they turned out. I tried to put the pictures in the order I made them, but Blogger was being weird and I didn't want to figure out what was happening.



I gave this to Steve...obviously. It was a lot of fun to make, once I figured out the mistake
from the blog from which I got the pattern. It took a long time to make because I wanted it to be wide
and tall enough for Steve to fit under comfortably. I really like how it turned out.
I used Red Heart yarn so it's thick and very warm. It was my third-to-last blanket.

Steve was just as surprised to see Matt's mini-me blanket as he was to see his own.
It's cute that they have matching afghans. Matt loves it...although not as
much as the blanket my mom crocheted him when he was born. *smile*
I used leftover yarn from Steve's blanket, so it's the same kind. It was
my second-to-last blanket.
 

This one was the first afghan I ever made. It was for my brother Corey's birthday.
It was made with four strands of yarn; white, black, red, and gray; that I held at the same time, so it's
thick and warm. I used Red Heart yarn.
I wish now that I would have made it a little bigger, but it is a good lap blanket.
 

This is the second afghan I made and is a Christmas present for my stepmom Paula.
I used Caron yarn and it turned out so soft and silky. It was a simple design but elegant and comfy.

This was the third blanket I made. I gave it to my mom for Christmas.
Again, I used Caron yarn - five different colors - and it is quite soft but warm.
This is the most complex blanket I made and the longest to make. Also my favorite.

This is the last afghan I made and it was for my sister-in-law Jenny's birthday.
It was converted from a baby afghan...I just made it wider and longer. I
couldn't find the right kind of yellow in the softer Caron yarn, so I used
Red Heart yarn. I love this yellow and would have been happy to keep it. :)
 

I made this one for Steve's stepmom Janie. It is a take on granny squares but instead
of doing lots of little granny squares, it's just one big round.
I was crocheting Paula's afghan when we visited Janie and Ron in Oregon, and
Janie mentioned that she'd like a pink blanket and a blue one for Ron. So, that's what I did.
This was used with thicker, coarser Red Heart yarn but the pattern made it so lacy that
it turned out quite soft. It was my fourth blanket.

I decided to make Ron an afghan to match Janie's but in blue, as per her request.
I used Red Heart yarn again but this time used a smaller needle than the pattern directed
so it turned out tighter, less lacy. I like it better an wish I would have done Janie's the same way.
It is afghan number 5.

My Tough Guy

Yesterday, while working out on the treadmill, a gym employee approached me and told me I was needed in the daycare. Usually this means Matt has a poopy diaper that needs changing. This time, it meant he needed his mama.

From what the daycare worker told me, he and his best buddy, Kempson, had run at each other wielding doll-sized plastic cars. Only those two know what their intent was; the result was Matt being slammed with the toy right on his kisser. His front teeth bit into his upper and lower lips causing blood to flow everywhere. Face wounds always bleed more than is warranted, so at first I didn't realize how badly he'd been hurt. As the blood slowed, I saw the scuff mark on his chin, the raspberry between his nose and lips, and some deep cuts on his lips.

What a smile!

It took about 15 minutes to calm him down, and once he was calm, he wanted to go home. So, I packed up my stuff to leave. Unfortunately, home wasn't our destination. We had dropped my mom off at her physical therapy session (knee surgery a couple weeks ago) and needed to pick her up shortly. So, we stopped by Dad's work to show him what had happened to his little buddy. Matt screamed bloody murder because he wanted to go home...NOT to Dad's work or to Grandma's house. So, I popped a sucker in his mouth and he was good to go. I asked him if it hurt his mouth...I know it had to because it opened up the wound and he started bleeding again...but he said no and refused to stop sucking on it. At least it made him happy.

I could tell his mouth hurt him yesterday, even after I gave him some pain medicine, but he was still a cheerful little guy. He's just like that. It's hard to get him down for long. Today, when the above picture was taken, he's practically back to normal. He hates it when I put Vaseline on his lips but he lets me because I told him it will help his lips get better.

Steve warned me to get used to this happening. A friend told me her oldest son bit clear through his lower lip TWICE.

Heaven help me and all other moms of little boys.

It's a good thing I don't drink.

Thank God for chocolate.

Julie :)

I'm still here...

...I promise!

When I quit Facebook, I decided to blog more. I still intend to, but currently, every free moment I have is spent crocheting a blanket for Steve for Christmas. I didn't start it until a few weeks ago and it's a big blanket so it's taking a long time, especially since I can only work on it when Steve's not around AND when Matt is either sleeping or playing well on his own. The last 5 weeks, I have neglected my housework and my son (not really...I just don't play with him nearly as much), but I'm almost done with it, thankfully. However, I have enough yarn left over that I came up with the idea to make Matt a smaller version of Steve's afghan, so I will be crocheting like mad for a couple more weeks.

When both blankets are finished, I'll post more frequently. And clean my house again instead of paying my niece and nephew to do it like I did last weekend.

No regrets. Worth every dollar. :)